Medical cable connector for a medical lead providing an electrical receptacle that is movable relative to an outer body

ABSTRACT

A medical cable connector of a medical cable receives a medical lead while an electrical receptacle within the medical cable connector is placed into a distal position relative to an outer body of the medical cable connector. The electrical receptacle is retracted to a proximal position once insertion of the medical lead into the medical cable connector is completed. The electrical receptacle may be mounted to an inner body which moves relative to the outer body. A biasing member may be present to bias the inner body to a particular position. A slider may be present to provide a clinician with a surface to touch when applying force to position the electrical receptacle in the distal position for insertion of the medical lead. Various other features may be present to facilitate insertion of the medical lead and/or to maintain the position of the electrical receptacle relative to the outer body.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/319,804, filed Mar. 31, 2010, the entire disclosureof which is being expressly incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments relate to cable connectors that receive proximal ends ofmedical leads. More particularly, embodiments relate to cable connectorsthat provide electrical receptacles to receive electrical conductors ofthe medical leads where the electrical receptacles are movable within anouter body of the cable connector.

BACKGROUND

External medical devices such as those being used for trial stimulationperiods include a cable extending from the medical device to an areathat is external to the body of a patient and nearby the site ofimplantation of a medical stimulation lead. The cable includes a cableconnector on a distal end. This cable connector includes an electricalreceptacle that receives an electrical conductor such as a pin presenton the proximal end of the medical stimulation lead. The proximal end ofthe medical stimulation lead is also present in the area nearby the siteof implantation.

The medical stimulation lead has a distal end present within the body atthe stimulation site where an electrode provides the stimulation fromthe medical device. The electrode is connected to the electricalconductor pin present on the proximal end by including an intermediateconductor that is surrounded by an insulator forming a lead body. Thelead body and intermediate conductor are flexible which allows themedical stimulation lead to be routed to the stimulation site duringimplant and allows the lead to flex during movement by the patient.

When completing the installation of the medical device, the clinicianmust insert the electrical conductor pin of the medical stimulation leadinto the cable connector. The electrical conductor pin is typically morerigid than the intermediate conductor and lead body, so the clinicianmay grasp the electrical conductor pin to perform the insertion.However, most or all of the electrical conductor pin will be insertedinto the housing of the cable connector. Therefore, once some portion ofthe electrical conductor pin has been inserted, the clinician becomesunable to grasp the lesser amount of the electrical conductor pin thatremains outside of the cable connector. Grasping the lead body near theproximal end of the medical stimulation lead provides little help incompleting the insertion of the medical stimulation lead due to theflexible nature of the lead body and intermediate conductor. Therefore,the clinician may struggle to complete the insertion of the electricalconductor pin and may resort to uncomfortable and potentially harmfultechniques by using a fingernail to press against the distal end of theelectrical conductor pin and/or a tool to grasp the distal end, whichmay cause damage to the lead.

SUMMARY

Embodiments address issues such as these and others by providing a cableconnector that includes an electrical receptacle that can be moved to amore distal location within an outer body of the cable connector. Theelectrical receptacle may be mounted on an inner body that is containedwithin the outer body where the inner body is movable in a longitudinaldirection to provide movement of the electrical receptacle. Duringinsertion of the medical lead, the receptacle may be moved closer to adistal end of the outer body where the medical lead is introduced. Uponthe electrical conductor of the medical lead engaging the electricalreceptacle, the electrical receptacle may then be retracted to a moreproximal location within the outer body.

Embodiments provide a method of attaching a medical lead having at leasta first electrical conductor exposed on a proximal end to a cableconnector. The method involves providing the cable connector having anouter body defining a longitudinal axis and with an opening at a distalend, an inner body contained within the outer body while being movablealong the longitudinal axis and having at least a first electricalreceptacle. The method further involves moving the inner body to adistal position within the outer body. While the inner body is in thedistal position, the proximal end of the first electrical conductor isinserted into the opening at the distal end of the outer body and intothe first electrical receptacle of the inner body. After the proximalend of the first electrical conductor is inserted into the firstelectrical receptacle of the inner body, then the inner body includingthe electrical receptacle and proximal end of the electrical conductoris moved to a proximal position within the outer body.

Embodiments provide a medical cable connector that includes an outerbody defining a longitudinal axis with an opening at a distal end andwith an aperture. The medical cable connector includes an inner bodycontained within the outer body while being movable along thelongitudinal axis. The medical cable connector also includes a firstelectrical receptacle mounted to the inner body and contained within theouter body.

Embodiments provide a medical system that includes a medical devicecontaining electrical circuitry that produces stimulation signals at anoutput. The medical system further includes a medical cable including atleast one electrical conductor surrounded by an insulator, the medicalcable including a proximal end where the electrical conductor iselectrically connected to the output of the medical device and includinga distal end. Additionally, the medical system includes a medical cableconnector present at the distal end of the medical cable, and themedical cable connector includes an outer body defining a longitudinalaxis and with an opening at a distal end. The medical cable connectorfurther includes an inner body contained within the outer body whilebeing movable along the longitudinal axis. The medical cable connectoralso includes an electrical receptacle mounted to the inner body andcontained within the outer body, with the electrical receptacle beingelectrically connected to the electrical conductor of the medical cable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a medical system including a medical device,associated medical cable and implantable medical lead as well as amedical cable connector according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows the medical cable connector according to variousembodiments with an outer body shown transparently to reveal an innerbody and a biasing member.

FIG. 3 shows the inner body and biasing member of the medical cableconnector according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows the interior of the inner body of the medical cableconnector according to various embodiments.

FIG. 5 shows electrical receptacles present within the inner body of themedical cable connector according to various embodiments.

FIG. 6 shows a distal end view of the inner body and a slider of themedical cable connector according to various embodiments.

FIG. 7 shows a distal end view of the medical cable connector prior toinsertion of the electrical conductor of the implantable medical lead.

FIG, 8 shows a proximal end view of the medical cable connectoraccording to various embodiments.

FIG. 9 shows a side view that illustrates protrusions on the slider anddetents within the outer body of the medical cable connector accordingto various embodiments.

FIG. 10 shows a top view that illustrates an aperture and a locking slotwithin the outer body of the medical cable connector according tovarious embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments provide for a medical cable connector that includes anelectrical receptacle that receives an electrical conductor of a medicallead while allowing the electrical receptacle to be moved between adistal position and a proximal position in relation to an outer bodysurrounding the electrical receptacle. In this manner, the electricalconductor may be inserted into the electrical receptacle with theelectrical receptacle in the distal position and then the electricalreceptacle may be retracted to the proximal position.

FIG. 1 shows one example of a medical system that includes a medicaldevice 102. The medical device 102 may be of various types, such as apulse generator and/or a physiological sensing device and may be forpurposes such as cardiovascular or neurological therapies. The medicaldevice 102 includes circuitry 104 that may be used to perform thestimulation or sensing functions.

The medical device 102 includes one or more medical cables 106, 108 totransfer electrical signals such as stimulation signals or sensedsignals. As shown, the medical device 102 is bipolar and provides twomedical cables 106, 108 with each having one electrical conductorsurrounded by an insulator. It will be appreciated that other numbers ofelectrical conductors may be used for different configurations andtherapies being provided by the medical device 102. It will be furtherappreciated that the individual electrical conductors may be containedwithin one insulative body rather than having a separate cable 106, 108for each electrical conductor.

The medical cables 106, 108 lead to one or more medical cable connectors110. In the example shown, both cables 106, 108 lead to a single bipolarmedical cable connector 110. However, the medical cable connectoraccording to embodiments disclosed herein may be uni-polar ormulti-polar.

The medical cable connector 110 provides an outer body 124 that may beconstructed of a variety of materials such as polymeric materials likepolycarbonate or polypropylene. The outer body 124 has an open proximalend to allow the medical cables 106, 108 to pass through and alsodefines an opening 130 on a distal end. The opening 130 allows anelectrical conductor end 112 of an implantable medical lead 114 to passthrough. In this example, the outer body includes an aperture 126 thatallows a slider 128 to move longitudinally. The movement of the slider128, which may be also be constructed of a variety of materials such aspolymeric materials like polycarbonate or polypropylene, allows aclinician to move the slider 128 to a distal position during insertionof the electrical conductor end 112 and to move the slider 128 to aproximal position after insertion to pull the electrical conductor end112 into the cable connector 110. After proper insertion of theelectrical conductor end 112, the cable connector 110 may be taped orotherwise fixed to the skin of the patient.

The implantable medical lead 114 includes one or more electrodes 118,122 on a distal end. An intermediate electrical conductor 116, 120 thatis covered by an insulative lead body 117 is present for each electrode118, 122 and carries signals between electrical conductors in theelectrical conductor end 112 forming the proximal end of the medicallead 114 and the electrodes 118, 122.

The electrical conductor end 112 may be significantly stiffer than theportion of the medical lead 114 where the intermediate electricalconductors 116, 120 and insulative lead body 117 are present. Thisstiffness of the electrical conductor end 112 allows a clinician tograsp the electrical conductor end 112 and insert it into the cableconnector 110 by pushing it in the proximal direction. The flexibilityof the remainder of the medical lead. 114 allows it to be routed to thestimulation site and flex during movement by the patient. The outersurface of the electrical conductor end 112 may be constructed ofvarious materials such as polyester tubing. While in this example theouter surface of the electrical conductor end 112 may be constructed ofa pliable material, conductors 150 and 156, which are discussed below inrelation to FIGS. 4 and 5, within the electrical conductor end 112 maybe constructed of a rigid conductive material like stainless steel tofacilitate insertion. In other embodiments, the electrical conductor end112 may be constructed of rigid materials as well.

FIG. 2 shows a view of the medical cable connector 110 with the outerbody 124 shown transparently so that the relationship of the outer body124 to an inner body 136 can be seen. The inner body 136 may beconstructed of various materials such as polymeric materials likepolycarbonate or polypropylene. FIG. 3 shows the medical cable connector110 with the outer body 124 removed so that the inner body 136 can beseen without obstruction.

The outer body 124 includes a section where the opening 130 has a smalldiameter that terminates at an abutment 132 where the diameter islarger. The inner body 136 includes a smaller diameter distal portion138 that extends to an abutment 1.40 where the diameter of the innerbody 136 increases. The smaller diameter distal portion 138 passesthrough the smaller diameter distal opening 130 of the outer body 124while the larger diameter proximal portion of the inner body 136 resideswithin the larger diameter distal portion of the opening 130.

This relationship between the inner body 136 and the outer body 124allows the inner body 136 to be contained within the outer body 124 yetbe movable relative to the outer body 124 along a longitudinal axis ofthe outer body 124. The clinician may apply pressure via a thumb orother finger to the slider 128 which is attached to the inner body 136.The slider 128 is confined by the aperture 126 of the outer body 124which allows the slider 128 to move in the longitudinal direction tothereby move the inner body 136.

In some embodiments, a biasing member such as a spring 134 may beincluded to bias the inner body 136 relative to the outer body 124. Inthe example shown, the spring 134 is a coil spring that is presentbetween the abutment 132 of the outer body 124 and the abutment 140 ofthe inner body 136. The coil spring 134 biases the inner body 136 into aproximal or retracted position within the outer body 124. Thus, theinner body 136 may be forced into the distal position for insertion ofthe electrical conductor end 112 by pressing the slider 128 in thedistal direction. The inner body 136 may then be moved into the proximalposition to retract the electrical conductor end 112 into the outer body124 by releasing the slider 128 and allowing the spring 134 to force theinner body 136 in the proximal direction.

FIG. 4 shows one half of the inner body 136 to reveal the passageway 144of the inner body 136. This passageway leads to the location of the oneor more electrical receptacles that receive the one or more exposedconductors of the electrical conductor end 112. In this particularexample, the passageway 144 has a tapered surface 146 that guides theelectrical conductor end 112 as it is inserted. The distal opening ofthe passageway 144 can therefore be larger in diameter than the openingat the electrical receptacles to make inserting the electrical conductorend 112 into the distal end of the passageway 144 easier.

In this example of FIG. 4, the electrical receptacles are containedwithin electrical receptacle housings 148, 154 but it will beappreciated that the electrical receptacles may be shaped so as to bemounted to the inner body 136 without the need for electrical receptaclehousings. These housings 148, 154 may be constructed of various rigidmaterials such as nickel in this bipolar example, the housings 148, 154are axially spaced along the longitudinal axis of the inner body 136,with the axial spacing being appropriate to accommodate the axialspacing between the two exposed electrical conductors 150, 156 of theelectrical conductor end 112. As shown, the electrical conductor 150 andthe electrical conductor 156 are concentric with the electricalconductor 150 having the larger diameter. An insulative layer 152 ispresent between the two electrical conductors 150, 156 and extendsbeyond the electrical conductor 150 in the proximal direction.

Electrical conductors 158, 160 extend from each electrical receptaclehousing 148, 154 and continue into the medical cables 106, 108. Theelectrical conductors 158, 160 may reside within channels formed in theinner body 136 that route the electrical conductors 158, 160 from theelectrical receptacle housings 148, 154 to the medical cables 106, 108.

In this particular example, the inner body 136 may be constructed of twohalves with one half 142 being shown in FIG. 4. During assembly, theelectrical receptacle housings 148, 154 and electrical conductors 158,160 may be put into proper position and then the second half of theinner body 136 is joined to the first half 142. One manner of joiningthe two halves of the inner body 136 is to include protrusions 164 onone half and holes in the other half that receive the protrusions 164.Interference fit, adhesives, and the like may be used to secure the twohalves.

FIG. 5 shows the half of the inner body 136 with the electricalreceptacle housings 148, 154 removed to reveal the electricalreceptacles 166, 168. In this particular example, the electricalreceptacles are ring shaped with inward angled fingers that spring openas the electrical conductor 150, 156 passes through. The inward angledfingers are biased inward so as to sustain adequate physical andelectrical contact with the electrical conductors 150, 156. It will beappreciated that other electrical receptacle shapes and designs are alsoapplicable. The electrical receptacles 166, 168 themselves areconductive and may be constructed of various conductive materials suchas beryllium copper to conduct electrical signals between the exposedelectrical conductors 150, 156 and the electrical conductors 158, 160.

As shown for this bipolar example, the electrical receptacles 166, 168are encountered sequentially during insertion. The first electricalconductor 156 to enter the passageway 144 encounters the more distalelectrical receptacle 166. The first electrical conductor 156 passesthrough the electrical receptacle 166 and continues onward in theproximal direction until reaching the more proximal electricalreceptacle 168. The second electrical conductor 150 reaches the moredistal electrical receptacle 166 when the first electrical conductor 156has reached the more proximal electrical receptacle 168.

FIG. 6 shows a distal end view of the inner body 136. This viewillustrates the attachment of the slider 128 to the inner body 136 inthis particular example. The slider of this example includes a post 170which mounts to the inner body 136. For instance, the inner body 136 mayhave an aperture that the post 170 resides within. The post 170 passesthrough the aperture 126 of the outer body 124. While this view showsthe slider 128 attached to the inner body 136 without the outer body 124present, this is for purposes of illustration. The inner body 136 may beinstalled within the outer body 124 prior to attachment of the slider128 if the outer body 124 is constructed as one piece. However, forembodiments where the outer body 124 is constructed of two halves, theslider 128 may be attached to the inner body 136 before insertion intothe outer body 124 and/or may be constructed as an integral portion ofthe inner body 136,

FIG. 7 shows a distal end view of the cable connector 110 where therelationship between the opening 130 of the outer body 124, the taperedpassageway 144 of the inner body 136, and the electrical receptacle 166can be seen. This view illustrates that the relative sizes of theopening 130, the opening at the distal end of the passageway 144, andthe electrical receptacle 166 facilitate the insertion of the electricalconductor end 112. While the distal end of the inner body 136 isapproximately flush with the distal end of the outer body 124 while inthe distal position in this embodiment, it will be appreciated thatother embodiments may provide for the distal end of the inner body 136to extend distally beyond the distal end of the outer body 124 or to notextend all the way to the distal end of the outer body 124 when in thedistal position.

Furthermore, the opening 130 of the outer body 124 may be smaller indiameter than the distal end of the tapered passageway 144. A result ofthis configuration is that the distal end of the tapered passageway 144is obstructed in the distal direction upon the distal end of the taperedpassageway 144 approaching the opening 130. The interior surface of theouter body 124 forming the opening 130 thereby provides a stop fordistal movement of the inner body 136 relative to the outer body 124.This stop for distal movement may be in addition to or as an alternativeto a stop being provided by contact of the post 170 with the distal endof the aperture 126.

FIG. 8 shows a proximal end view of the cable connector 110 where therelationship between the inner body 136, outer body 124, and medicalcables 106, 108 can be seen. A proximal end opening 172 in the outerbody 124 allows for ease of insertion of the inner body 136. While theproximal end of the inner body 136 may be approximately flush with theproximal end of the outer body 124 while in the proximal position inthis embodiment, it will be appreciated that other embodiments mayprovide for the proximal end of the inner body 136 to extend proximallybeyond the proximal end of the outer body 124 or to not extend all theway to the proximal end of the outer body 124 when in the proximalposition.

FIG. 9 shows a side view of an embodiment of a medical cable connector180 that provides additional features to secure the position of theinner body 136, and hence the electrical receptacles 166, 168, relativeto the outer body 184. These features include one or more protrusions186 on the underside of the slider 182 as well as one or more detents188 formed in the outer body 184 that receive the protrusions 186.Accordingly, when the slider 82 is moved to the proximal or distalextremes, the protrusions 186 engage the detents 188 to hold the sliderin the particular position. This relieves the clinician from maintainingthe slider 128 in the distal position during insertion of the electricalconductor end 112 and also relieves the spring or other biasing memberfrom being the sole manner of maintaining the slider 128 in the proximalposition after insertion.

In some embodiments, the biasing member may be omitted in favor ofrelying on the engagement of the protrusions 186 with the detents 188 tohold the slider 182, and hence the inner body 136, in a given position.Furthermore, FIG. 9 shows detents 188 for both the distal and proximalpositions. It will be appreciated that detents 188 may be used for onlyone of those positions rather than both. For instance, an embodiment mayrely on the clinician to hold the slider 182 in the distal positionduring insertion while relying on the detents 188 on the proximal sideto hold the slider 182 in the proximal position after insertion. Asanother example, an embodiment may rely on the detents to hold theslider 182 in the distal position during insertion while relying on thespring to hold the slider 182 in the proximal position after insertion.

The example of FIG. 9 provides the protrusions 186 on the slider 182 andthe detents within the outer body 184. These features may be reversedfor some embodiments, where the underside of the slider 192 may includedetents and the outer body 184 may provide protrusions that engage thedetents of the slider 182 to hold the slider 182 in a particularlongitudinal position.

FIG. 10 shows a top view of an embodiment of a medical cable connector190 that provides other additional features to secure the position ofthe inner body 136, and hence the electrical receptacles 166, 168,relative to the outer body 194. These features include one or more slots198 formed with the longitudinal aperture 196 of the outer body 194,with the slot diverging at an angle from the longitudinal axis of theaperture 196. The angle is severe enough so that when the post 170 ofthe slider 192 is forced, the post 170 will enter and reside within theslot 198 to hold the slider 192, and hence the inner body 136, in thatparticular position. In the example shown, the angle is 90 degrees butother angles are also applicable to hold the slider 192 in theparticular longitudinal position.

As the inner body 136 is cylindrical and the interior surface of theouter body 194 is also cylindrical, the inner body 136 is containedwhile being free to move longitudinally and while also being free torotate within the outer body 194 so long as the post 170 of the slider192 is not obstructed. The post 170 is obstructed by the aperture 196 toprevent rotation except when positioned along the aperture 196 at theslot 198.

In the example shown, the slot 198 is located at the proximal end tohold the slider 192 in the proximal position. The slot 198 may be usedin conjunction with the spring to hold the slider 192 and inner body 136in the proximal position or may be used alone for embodiments where thespring is omitted. Furthermore, the slot 198 may also be located on thedistal end of the aperture 196, in addition to being located on theproximal end, to hold the slider 192 in the distal position duringinsertion. In another example, the slot 198 may be located on the distalend rather than being located on the proximal end so that the slot 198holds the slider 192 in the distal position during insertion while thebiasing member holds the slider 192 in the proximal position afterinsertion.

While embodiments have been particularly shown and described, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in theform and details may be made therein without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A medical cable connector, comprising: an outerbody defining a longitudinal axis and with an opening at a distal end;an inner body contained within the outer body while being movablerelative to the outer body along the longitudinal axis; and a firstelectrical receptacle mounted to the inner body and contained within theouter body, wherein the inner body includes a passageway from a distalend to the first electrical receptacle, the passageway being taperedfrom the distal end to an area in closer proximity to the firstelectrical receptacle.
 2. The medical cable connector of claim 1,wherein the outer body includes an aperture, the cable connector furthercomprising: a slider attached to the inner body and exposed through theaperture in the outer body while being movable along the longitudinalaxis, the slider positioning the inner body and the electricalreceptacle within the outer body
 3. The medical cable connector of claim2, further comprising: a biasing member positioned to bias the innerbody toward a proximal position, and wherein the slider is movableagainst the bias to move the inner body to a distal position.
 4. Themedical cable connector of claim 3, wherein the outer body includes anabutment and wherein the inner body includes an abutment, wherein thebiasing member is a coil spring with a distal end contacting theabutment of the outer body and with a proximal end contacting theabutment of the inner body.
 5. The medical cable connector of claim 1,further comprising a second electrical receptacle axially spaced fromthe first electrical receptacle on the inner body.
 6. The medical cableconnector of claim 2, wherein the outer housing includes detents andwherein the slider includes protrusions such that when the protrusionsare placed into the detents the inner body is held in a fixedrelationship to the outer body.
 7. The medical cable connector of claim2, wherein the aperture of the outer housing includes a longitudinalaxis and further includes a slot angled relative to the longitudinalaxis such that when the slider is moved into the slot the inner body isheld in a fixed relationship to the outer body.
 8. The medical cableconnector of claim 1, wherein the first electrical receptacle comprisesa ring and inward angled fingers extending from the ring.
 9. A medicalcable connector, comprising: an outer body defining a longitudinal axisand with an opening at a distal end; an inner body contained within theouter body while being movable relative to the outer body along thelongitudinal axis; and a first electrical receptacle mounted to theinner body and contained within the outer body, the first electricalreceptacle comprises a ring and inward angled fingers extending from thering.
 10. The medical cable connector of claim 9, wherein the outer bodyincludes an aperture, the cable connector further comprising: a sliderattached to the inner body and exposed through the aperture in the outerbody while being movable along the longitudinal axis, the sliderpositioning the inner body and the electrical receptacle within theouter body
 11. The medical cable connector of claim 10, furthercomprising: a biasing member positioned to bias the inner body toward aproximal position, and wherein the slider is movable against the bias tomove the inner body to a distal position.
 12. The medical cableconnector of claim 11, wherein the outer body includes an abutment andwherein the inner body includes an abutment, wherein the biasing memberis a coil spring with a distal end contacting the abutment of the outerbody and with a proximal end contacting the abutment of the inner body.13. The medical cable connector of claim 9, further comprising a secondelectrical receptacle axially spaced from the first electricalreceptacle on the inner body.
 14. The medical cable connector of claim10, wherein the outer housing includes detents and wherein the sliderincludes protrusions such that when the protrusions are placed into thedetents the inner body is held in a fixed relationship to the outerbody.
 15. The medical cable connector of claim 10, wherein the apertureof the outer housing includes a longitudinal axis and further includes aslot angled relative to the longitudinal axis such that when the slideris moved into the slot the inner body is held in a fixed relationship tothe outer body.
 16. The medical cable connector of claim 9, wherein theinner body includes a passageway from a distal end to the firstelectrical receptacle, the passageway being tapered from the distal endto an area in closer proximity to the first electrical receptacle.